The greengages are a group of cultivars of the common Middle Eastern plum. The first true greengage came from a green-fruited wild plum which originated in Iran. Greengages are grown in temperate areas and are known for the rich, confectionery flavour. They are considered to be among the finest dessert plums.
| Greengage | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rosaceae |
| Genus: | Prunus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | P. d. subsp. italica
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Prunus domestica subsp. italica (Borkh.) Gams ex Hegi
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Prunus italica Borkh. | |
Description
editGreengage fruit are identified by their round-oval shape and smooth-textured, pale green flesh; they are on average smaller than round plums but larger than mirabelle plums—usually between 2 and 4 centimetres (1 and 1+1⁄2 in) diameter. The skin ranges in colour from green to yellowish, with a pale blue "blush" in some cultivars; a few Reine Claudes, such as 'Graf Althanns', are reddish-purple due to crossbreeding with other plums.[citation needed]
Taxonomy
editGreengage fruit originated in the Middle East.[2] Though "Green Gages" were previously thought to have been first imported into England from France in 1724 by Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet,[3] a greengage seed was found embedded[clarification needed] in a 15th-century building in Hereford.[4] Supposedly, the labels identifying the French plum trees were lost in transit to Gage's home at Hengrave Hall, near Bury St Edmunds.[5] More recent research indicates that it was a cousin and namesake Sir William Gage, 2nd Baronet of Hengrave who was responsible for introducing the greengage to England.[6]
The name Reine Claude (French for "Queen Claude"), by which they are known in France, is in honour of the French queen Claude (1499–1524), Duchess of Brittany. A greengage is also called la bonne reine (French for "the good Queen") in France.[7]
Although the Oxford English Dictionary regards "gage" and "greengage" as synonyms,[8] not all gages are green, and some horticulturists make a distinction between the two words, with greengages as a variety of the gages, as Prunus domestica subsp. italica var. claudiana.[9][2]
Cultivation
edit
Greengages are widely grown in particular in western Europe. The core of their range extends from France to southern England. In Germany, where they are called Reneklode or Ringlotte, numerous cultivars have been developed too. In the Czech Republic, they are known as ringle, in Poland as renklody, in Hungary as ringló,[10] in Slovakia as ringloty, in Slovenia as ringlo, and in Portugal as Raínha Cláudia. They are widely grown, typically for eating out of hand or stewing in syrup to make a compote. In Portugal, however, they make up a delicacy invented by Dominican nuns in the 16th or 17th century (when confined to their convents) in the town of Elvas, where they are boiled in a sugary syrup several times, over the course of several weeks, to then be preserved whole in syrup or dried, coated in sugar and eaten either with a local dessert, sericaia, made from eggs, sugar, milk, cinnamon and flour or eaten with rich cheeses.
At least the green cultivars breed more or less true from seed. Several similar cultivars produced from seedlings are now available; some of these include other plum cultivars in their parentage. Widely grown cultivars include:
- Gojeh Sabz (Iran)
- Canerik (Turkey)
- Boddarts Reneclode (Germany)
- Bryanston (UK)
- Cambridge Gage (UK)
- Denniston's Superb (US)
- Yaşıl Alça or Göy Alça (Azerbaijan)
- Golden Transparent (UK)
- Graf Althanns Reneklode (Germany)
- Green Vanilla (Mount Pelion, Greece)
- Große Grüne Reneklode (Germany) / Reine Claude Verte (France)
- Laxton's Gage (UK)
- Laxton's Supreme (UK)
- Meroldts Reneclode (Germany)
- Rainha Cláudia (Portugal)
- Regina Claudia (Italy)
- Reine Claude de Bavay (France)
- Reine Claude d'Oullins (France)
- Uhinks Reneklode (Germany)
- Washington (US)
Uses
editThey are considered to be among the finest dessert plums; Anna Pavord calls them "most ambrosial of all tree fruit"[11] and David Karp describes them as "the best fruit in the world".[12]
In culture
editGreengages were cultivated in the American colonies, being grown on the plantations of American presidents George Washington (1732–1799) and Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826).
The fruit is referenced in the British novel The Greengage Summer (1958) by Rumer Godden, which was adapted into a film in 1961.
Greengages are mentioned in a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch as a form of dangerous fruit (as in a food fight).
More recently, the tree features in the novel The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree (2017) by Iranian-Australian author Shokoofeh Azar.
References
edit
- ^ "Prunus domestica subsp. italica". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ a b Andrew F. Smith Food and Drink in American History: A "Full Course" Encyclopedia (3 Volumes, 2013), p. 681, at Google Books
- ^ Howse, Christopher. "The gooseberry is always greener". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- ^ Hensich, Bridget Ann. Fast and Feast. Penn State Press. p. 115.
- ^ (Chambers's 20th Century Dictionary, 1903).
- ^ "The Curse of the Greengage". February 22, 2016.
- ^ "Greengage" at Bartleby.com which provides the text from Brewer, E. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898). Accessed 22 January 2007.
- ^ Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804. ISBN 978-0199206872.
- ^ Melinda Smale (Editor) Valuing Crop Biodiversity: On-farm Genetic Resources and Economic Change, p. 130, at Google Books
- ^ "Hungarian-English dictionary". szotar.sztaki.hu. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- ^ Anna Pavord, "Plum job: A juicy guide to greengages and plums" Independent (12 August 2011).
- ^ David Karp, “"A Finicky Fruit Is Sweet When Coddled",” New York Times (1 Sept. 2004).